Will grid, logistics and construction constraints stymie urgent wind energy ramp-up?

In light of ongoing grid constraints, some wind industry practitioners are warning that only about 2 GW of the 3.2 GW wind allocation in Bid Window Six (BW6) of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) is likely to be taken up, given that lower-priced solar photovoltaic projects could absorb a portion of the remaining available network in the key wind provinces of the Eastern and Western Cape. There are also warnings that South Africa’s logistics and …
/by

Loadshedding to be suspended at midnight, but Stage 2 planned for next week

Loadshedding will be suspended at midnight on Friday, Eskom said. This is thanks to lower weekend demand. But Stage 2 loadshedding will continue until 16:00, which will increase to Stage 3 until midnight on Friday. 
/by

Amendment Bill to realise embedded capacity

The Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill is expected to realise significant local embedded generation capacity growth by removing the cap on the licensing threshold, but the current version of South Africa’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) is a limiting factor. The amendment of Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act (ERA) that lifted the licensing threshold from 1 MW to 100 MW had an enormous impact on the local electricity supply industry when it came into effect in August last year, says law firm Webber Wentzel partner Jason van der Poel. 
/by

Windaba panel asks: Jobs first, or energy first?

Manufacturing is responsible for only one-third of jobs within the wind energy sector, says Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Africa area director Marcel Cabral. Speaking at Windaba 2022, held earlier this month, during a panel discussion around localisation in the wind sector, Cabral noted that the other two-thirds revolved around the development, construction, running and maintenance of wind farms, and that “South Africa has all the resources for that”.
/by

Loadshedding impacting on embedded generation uptake

While loadshedding is driving the uptake of embedded electricity solutions, it is also deemed obstructive by renewable-energy solutions company Solareff, owing to the financial implications for clients seeking to invest in large, industrial rooftop or ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. “We need our clients to be in a financially sound position and loadshedding has a negative effect on most clients’ finances. However, demand is substantial in light of the continued intermittent power supply and the high cost of electricity, as companies are now realising that embedded solar generation is the most cost-effective option,” Solareff CEO Jaco Botha tells Engineering News.
/by

CoCT ahead in SSEG capacity locally

While the City of Cape Town’s (CoCT’s) small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) capacity is ahead of the curve compared with other local municipalities, there is still a lot of work to be done, says CoCT Energy MMC Councillor Beverley van Reenen. “With State-owned power utility Eskom’s incredibly precarious position, every bit helps, but SSEG’s impact on the electricity supply deficit would be greater at household level if households have storage capacity. If the SSEG uptake country-wide is drastically upscaled, it holds the potential to reduce the demand on the grid.
/by